Glady’s Wanga disputes SRC’s paycut on legislators

Nairobi,KENYA:A member of Parliamentary Service Commission Gladys Wanga who is also the Women representative for Homa Bay county has disputed the salaries and remuneration commission recommendation on the pay cuts for members of the 12th parliament.

In a media briefing at parliamentary buildings Wanga said that the gazette notice issued by the commission on July this year, recommending that reduction of salaries,sitting allowances and car grant be effected was in a bad faith.

“It is especially unfair to deny members of parliament something as basic as a car grant,without providing them with other ways on how members will conduct their responsibilities .A member we know has two work stations,one is in their constituency and the other is in parliament.”Wanga said

She said that it is incorrect to single out legislatures in the purge adding that such recommendations especially on mortgage did not apply to the executive and Judiciary .

Wanga pointed that the SRC’s move is to demean the legislative as an arm of the government insisting that Parliamentary service commission PSC will not take it lightly.

She criticized SRC’s move, in rushing to effect such recommendations without doing an MPs’ job evaluation within a period of one year as per the constitution.

Under the new salary structure, MPs will now earn Sh621,250 down from Sh710,000.

The pay cuts are part of a plan to reduce the public sector wage bill by 35 per cent and save the country Sh8.8 billion annually.

The current public sector wage bill stands at 52 per cent of the gross domestic product.

MPs have previously argued that they need higher pay because their constituents depend on them financially.